Old People

I have always loved to watch old peoples, especially couples. Especially now that I am one of them.

There is nothing sweeter than to see a pair that you can tell has been in love for a long time, or perhaps they only got together recently and are soulmates who at last found each other. Whatever. I love to see the way they hold hands, and the way they steal a kiss as though no one can see them.

I am reminded of some older couples at the club where we go dancing.

One of them dances nearly every dance. He and she whirl across the dance floor smiling and in perfect synch. They look as though they have been together for many a year. One can imagine them in ballroom costumes, so perfect is their movement.

One evening I bravely approached them, saying how much I loved to watch them perform, and how they must have been waltzing together for a long time. Boy, was I surprised to find out that they had known each other only a few months, that they never took a lesson, that they were friends, not mates. Wow.

Another couple strikes me. I know not how long they have been together, but I'm sure it is a very long time. She appears most often in a wheelchair, a floppy hat and a dress that strikes me as, in old-fashioned terms, "Sunday best".  He, in his farmer flannel and ill-fitting jeans is certainly nothing one would at twice. Yet several times over the course of the evening, he will take her hands in his and help her from her chair. They move slowly to the parquet, and gently sway to the soft, romantic music. He kisses her forehead, and they sit to share French fries and to rest. Tear-jerking.

I see couples like these every day, so obviously loving and caring. One of them may be wheelchair bound, or venturing into the world of senility. It doesn't stop them. The looks between them are of absolute adoration.

You can always tell when people are happy together. There is an electricity between them. They touch in the simplest of ways. It all comes naturally to them--the affection, the sweetness. You observe them, and you just know.

I know nothing about their personal lives. A little bit of beer or Jack Daniels and live music tends to bring out our more romantic sides. All I know is that whether they are at a dance, or in the park, or sitting on a bench by the water....this is love.